American entrepreneurs Michael Schwartz and Karl Reed officially launched in mid-June a new player in the world of cruising multihulls: VMG Industries (for Velocity Made Good, a term known to sailors the world over) based in New York. At the same time they presented their first model, the VMG 53 designed by VPLP and currently being built at the Evolution Marine Manufacturing shipyard in Cape Town, South Africa.

For this new collaboration, VPLP Design drew inspiration from the firm’s offshore racing experience to produce the plans for a cruising trimaran, 53 feet (16 metres) long, partially built in carbon fibre. In an article on the project for Forbes magazine, Michael Schwartz says: “From the beginning, our goal has been to create the yacht we wanted to own ourselves. We believe that we have the unique opportunity to combine world-class design, practical cruising capability and true sailing performancein a way that hasn’t been achieved before in a production trimaran. Through the VMG 53 and our future models, we aim to make the most cutting-edge trimaran technology accessible to all.” The first VMG 53 is scheduled for launch in early 2027, with VMG Industries hoping to start general production in its wake.